During its First Full Year in U.S. Market, Innovative Device Helped Thousands of COVID-19, Flu Patients & More in Respiratory Distress

EAST SYRACUASE, N.Y., Jan. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- With increasing cases of the flu, COVID-19, and pneumonia filling up hospitals across the United States throughout 2021, the StarMed CaStar R Hood has become an integral part of saving the lives of patients suffering from respiratory distress.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Intersurgical, a global designer, manufacturer and supplier of a wide range of high-quality medical devices for respiratory support, recognized the importance of its interface for those suffering respiratory distress due to illnesses including COVID-19, the flu, and pneumonia. The StarMed Hood, a device that goes over the head to treat patients who have difficulty breathing, was issued an Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA, and as hospitals around the country took note, patients reaped the rewards.

"Using the StarMed Hood is a no-brainer," said Doctor Maurizio Cereda, Anesthesiologist, Critical Care Physician, and CCM Fellowship Director at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, who started utilizing the StarMed Hood with his patients in 2021. "In obese patients especially, we have found a reduction in intubation by about 50%. Overall, the StarMed Hood has been more effective, safer, and better tolerated for many of our patients than anything else we have used."

In its first full year in the U.S. market, 47 hospitals, teaching institutions, and hospital systems around the country, including many world-renowned institutions, purchased the StarMed Hood. It can now be found in 22 states. Patients have responded to the device positively, citing their thankfulness for the availability of the device as an alternative for themselves and their loved ones as opposed to more invasive, higher risk, or less tolerable methods.

In comparison to traditional methods of providing non-invasive ventilation therapy, such as BiPap and CPAP which require the use of tight-fitting masks, the StarMed Hood is associated with increased patient comfort, improved recovery, a reduced total ventilation time, and a shorter stay in the ICU. On average, patients using an NIV face mask stayed in the ICU for 7.8 days, while intubated patients were kept for 14 days. StarMed Hood patients spent only 4.7 days in the ICU.

To treat patients suffering from respiratory distress, doctors often follow a multi-step process of escalatory therapeutic methods, starting with a standard nasal cannula and sometimes concluding with intubation. Intersurgical's StarMed CaStar R Hood is designed to eliminate one or more of these steps. The pressurized hood can be used to treat the symptoms of hypoxemic patients, those with critically low levels of oxygen in their bloodstream, as well as hypercapnic patients, who have excessive carbon dioxide in the bloodstream.

"In a year when we have seen unprecedented numbers of patients in respiratory distress filling hospitals around the country, it is essential that we do our part to help those in need of alternative respiratory therapies. We are thrilled that the StarMed CaStar R Hood has been able to successfully aid so many patients in recovery throughout 2021," said William Hope, President and COO at Intersurgical, Inc. "In 2022, it is our goal to spread awareness about the StarMed Hood, get it into more hospitals, and continue helping patients breathe easier in the face of respiratory distress."

The Intersurgical StarMed CaStar R NIV Hood is authorized by the FDA for the emergency use of ventilators, ventilator tubing connectors, and ventilator accessories under section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1).

About Intersurgical
Intersurgical is a global designer, manufacturer, and supplier of high-quality medical devices for respiratory support. For more than 30 years, Intersurgical has provided innovative healthcare solutions in the U.S., developing products from conception to completion and adhering to the highest industry standards. Known for revolutionary products in the medical community, most notably i-gel®, an innovative airway management device, Intersurgical provides a range of respiratory product solutions for patients and clinicians, offering quality, innovation and choice in respiratory care.

Media Contact

Adrienne Goebel, Intersurgical, 954-379-2115, [email protected]

SOURCE Intersurgical